Pauliina Moilanen, a doctoral researcher at the Institute of Dentistry and the Finnish Doctoral Programme in Oral Sciences, won the Three Minute Thesis competition of the University of Turku. Moilanen will represent the University of Turku in the international 3MT competition organised by the Coimbra Group for European universities.
Seven doctoral researchers from the University of Turku participated in the 3MT final held in the OP lecture hall of Turku School Economics on Wednesday, 5 March 2025. In the competition, the doctoral researchers summarise their research as engagingly as possible in only three minutes.
In her winning presentation, Pauliina Moilanen talked about the treatment and prevention of dental implant infections. According to Moilanen, summarising her own research subject in three minutes was an educational experience. She was surprised to win, as she thought the performances of her fellow competitors were so good.
“I am happy and honoured to win the competition. I would recommend this experience to all doctoral researchers. When you have to summarise your research subject in three minutes, it can also make your thoughts clearer. It is also easier to tell others about your research once you have found the words. Gaining performance experience is not a bad thing either,” Moilanen said.
Moilanen will participate in the Coimbra Group's international competition with a video of her 3MT presentation. On the basis of the video presentations, three doctoral researchers will be selected to the Coimbra 3MT final which will take place in Bologna, Italy this year.
Second place in the competition went to Rahul Biradar, a doctoral researcher at the Institute of Biomedicine and Turku Doctoral Programme of Molecular Medicine, whose presentation handled type one diabetes and its early detection. The audience's favourite was Ashwini Jadhav, a doctoral researcher at the Department of Chemistry and Doctoral Programme in Exact Sciences, who presented her research on energy storage. The jury selected Doctoral Researcher Omkar Joshi from the Institute of Biomedicine and Doctoral Programme in Technology to represent the University in the international 3MT competition organised by the SANORD network. Joshi’s presentation handled the effect of mitochondria on our health.
Last year, Nicko Widjaja, who was selected as the University’s representative to the SANORD 3MT competition, was one of the two winners of the 2024 SANORD 3MT international competition and was invited to present his research in Cape Town, South Africa.
The jury of the 3MT final at the University of Turku included Michael Nelson, Director of the Centre for Language and Communication Studies, Ilari E. Sääksjärvi, Professor of Biodiversity Research, and Johanna Kaakinen, Professor of Psychology. The event was hosted by Bahar Mostafiz, a doctoral researcher who was voted the audience's favourite and came in second in the 2024 competition.
The competition is organised jointly by the University of Turku Graduate School UTUGS, Centre for Language and Communication Studies, and University Communications.
